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Duquesne Light and UPMC Team Up to Power Down Energy Usage​

PITTSBURGH, Aug. 5, 2009 – UPMC will soon see reduced energy consumption and lower energy bills, thanks to a partnership with Duquesne Light Company, as part of the new energy efficiency and demand response initiatives under Act 129 that DLC is implementing throughout Allegheny and Beaver counties.

A grant from Duquesne Light is covering part of the cost of installing a new computer program – Verdiem’s Surveyor – which will help UPMC’s information technology staff centrally administer power settings for 30,000 PCs across the health system’s network. The software places PCs in lower power states or “sleep mode” without interfering with end-user productivity, desktop maintenance or upgrades.When this project is completed in six months, UPMC expects to cut 50 percent of the power used by its PCs, for a$1 million annual savings.This translates to a savings of 10,464,000 kWh yearly.

“The partnership with UPMC is an excellent example of the types of energy conservation programs Duquesne Light can provide to our customers,” said Maureen Hogel, Duquesne Light’s Chief Operating Officer.“From the smallest townhouse, to the largest manufacturer or health care provider in the region, we will be implementing new and innovative initiatives that will save our customers money while also conserving energy.”

“We are pleased to have Duquesne Light’s support for our efforts to promote environmental stewardship across all aspects of our operations,” said John Krolicki, vice president of facilities and support services at UPMC. “This energy conservation project, which covers about two-thirds of our PCs systemwide, is just one more example of our wide-ranging commitment to protecting the environment for the benefit of our patients, staff and communities.”

Signed into law by Governor Ed Rendell in 2008, Act 129 requires Duquesne Light, and the other electric distribution companies in Pennsylvania, to develop cost-effective plans that will reduce electricity consumption across the service territory by 1 percent by 2011, and 3 percent by 2013.The law also requires that the company reduce its peak demand 4.5 percent by 2013.In layman’s terms, this translates to a reduction of 140,885,117 kilowatt-hours (kWh) by 2011, 422,565,351 kWh by 2013, and a peak reduction of 113 megawatts (MW) by 2013.

Duquesne Light filed its plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on July 1, 2009, with specific plans for at least one energy consumption reduction and one demand reduction program for each customer class (residential, commercial, industrial).The plan also includes specific energy efficiency measures for low-income households (measured at below 150% of poverty level).PUC approval is expected in November.

About Duquesne Light Company

Duquesne Light Company is a leader in the transmission and distribution of electric energy, offering superior customer service and reliability to more than half a million customers throughout southwestern Pennsylvania.

About UPMC

UPMC is an $8 billion integrated global health enterprise headquartered in Pittsburgh and one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the United States. As western Pennsylvania’s largest employer, with 50,000 employees, UPMC is transforming the economy of the region into one based on medicine, research and technology. By integrating 20 hospitals, 400 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, long-term care facilities and a major health insurance services division, and in collaboration with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC has advanced the quality and efficiency of health care and developed internationally renowned programs in transplantation, cancer, neurosurgery, psychiatry, orthopaedics and sports medicine, among others. UPMC is commercializing its medical and technological expertise by nurturing new companies, developing strategic business relationships with some of the world’s leading multinational corporations and expanding into international markets, including Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Qatar. For more information about UPMC, visit our Web site at www.upmc.com.

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